Diamond dog collar stolen from poodle's Paris grave

Police in France are searching for thieves who stole a diamond encrusted dog collar from the grave of a poodle.

Tipsy was buried in a marble tomb in the world's oldest pet cemetery in a Paris suburb in 2003.

For years there were rumours the dog's wealthy owners had buried treasure with it, but this had never been confirmed.

But police told AFP news agency that when the grave was desecrated earlier this month the collar, worth 9,000 euros (£7,500: $12,000), was stolen.

They said the grave in the cemetery in Asnieres-sur-Seine was vandalised on the night of 4 February, the tombstone pulled down and Tipsy's skeleton left strewn over the ground.

The site is now surrounded by yellow police tape and the cemetery closed for repair work while police investigate.

The mayor of Asnieres, Sebastien Pietrasanta, said he was astonished the jewels had been buried with Tipsy, AFP reports. But he stressed: "Treasure is not hidden in the tombs of all the dogs and cats."

The cemetery houses the remains of around 3,000 pets, mostly cats and dogs. It was set up in 1899 when a new law required pets to be buried 100m from homes and with at least a metre of soil covering the body.

The best known grave is that of Rin Tin Tin, the German Shepherd who starred in more than 20 Hollywood films.